Beginning January 5, all air travellers two years of age and older arriving in Canada on flights originating from China, Hong Kong or Macao, will need to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test result.

“In response to the surge of COVID-19 in the People's Republic of China and given the limited epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data available on these cases, the Government of Canada intends to put in place certain temporary health measures for air travellers entering Canada from China,” the federal government said in a statement.

The test could be either a negative molecular (such as a PCR test), or a negative antigen test that has documentation to show that it has been monitored by a telehealth service or an accredited laboratory or testing provider. The test must be taken within 48 hours of arrival and provided to the passenger’s airline before boarding the plane.

Passengers who tested positive more than 10 days before their departure flight, but no more than 90 days, can provide the airline with documentation of their prior positive, in place of a negative test result.

The Canadian government says these are temporary measures, in place for 30 days, that will be reassessed as more data and evidence becomes available.

Further, when arriving at Primary Inspection Kiosks and eGates, or when making a customs declaration using the optional Advance CBSA Declaration prior to arriving at airports in Canada, travellers will be asked if they have travelled to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong or Macao in the last 10 days.

If they have, Canada Border Services Agency Officers will provide them with additional public health information on transmission of COVID-19, personal protective measures and what to do if they develop symptoms of COVID-19. This applies to air travellers only, not to those arriving by land.

In other COVID air travel news, the Public Health Agency of Canada is putting in place a pilot project on wastewater testing from aircrafts with Vancouver International Airport, and expanding the existing project with Toronto Pearson International Airport, to assess the COVID-19 prevalence from various regions of the world. The samples are then sequenced to monitor for novel variants of concern.